Machine for fastening crown-stays in boilers.



PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907.

l 11.55. LEWIS. MACHINE FOR PASTBNING CROWN sTAYs 1N BOILBRS.

APPLICATION YILED FEB. 23, 1907.

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HARRY E. LEWIS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

MACHINE FOR FASTENING CROWN-STAYS IN BOILERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907'.

Application filed February Z3, 1907. Serial No. 358,770.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY E. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for FasteningCrown-Stays in Boilers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for fastening Crown stays in boilersand has for its object the pro! vision of a device of this characterwhich may be moved to any desired position beneath the crown sheet of aboiler and which may then be brought into engagement with the head of acrown stay and is adapted to impart rotation to said stay to screw saidstay into position as will be hereinafter described.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedetailed description which now foll lows.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical section of a boilerillustrating this improved machine mounted in the lire box thereof, Fig.2 is a vertical section upon line of Fig. 1, looking in the direction ofthe arrow, Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View illustrating a tongue andgroove connection between two sections of a rack bar, Fig. 4 is a detailsectional View of a connection between the motor shaft and the gearing,Fig. 5 is a hprizontal section upon line y-y of Fig. 4, Fig. Gis asection upon line 6-6 of Fig. 1, Fig. 7 is a detail view of a pinionwhich is adapted to impart bodily longitudinal movement to the machine,and, Fig. 8 is a vertical section upon line 8*8 of Fig. 7.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of thedrawing.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the crown sheet of aboiler, and 6 designates the crown stays which are to be screwed intoposition by the machine which forms the subj ect matter of the presentinvention. In carrying out the present invention rack bars S are mountedat each end of the lire box 9 of a boiler and carriages 10 are mountedto travel upon said rack bars, said carriages being provided withpinions l1 which mesh with the rack bars. These rack bars may be securedin position temporarily in any desired manner. In practice it willprobably be found to be most convenient to bolt them to the end walls ofthe [ire box by bolts, not shown. The pinions 1 1 permit the carriages10 to be readily moved from one side of the fire box to the other, saidpinions acting in much the same manner that rollers would act in thesame positions, but the teeth of these pinions meshing with the teeth ofthe rack bars S, create sufficient friction and consequent resistance tothe movement of the carriages as to prevent said carriages from beingaccidentally moved. The result of this is to maintain the rack bar 14 inproper longitudinal alinement. Horizontally disposed blocks 12 rest uponthe tops of these carriages and are secured in the bifurcated ends 13 ofa longitudinally disposed rack bar 14, said rack bar 14 extending fromend to end of the fire box. Since these tire boxes vary in length, it isnecessary to provide some means for accommodating these various lengthlire boxes. In order to accomplish this the rack bar 14 may be made intwo sections and connected at l5. As is best illustrated in Fig. 3, thisconnection is a tongue and groove one, the tongues 16 entering grooves17 formed in the opposed sections of the rack bar. It'will therefore beseen that the rack bar is mounted for bodily movement transversely ofthe lire box, for when the bar is shoved from side to side, thecarriages 10 roll upon the rack bars 8 and carry the rack bar 14 withthem.

The stay tightening machine is mounted for bodily longitudinal movementupon the rack bar 14. This machine consists of end members 18 and abottom member 19. The rack bar 14 passes through slots 20 formed in theend members 18 of the frame of the machine and rollers 2l (see Figs. 7and S) which are carried by the end members 18 bear upon the uppersurface of the rack bar I4. A pinion 22 to which rotation maybeimpai'ted by a handle 23, is journaled in brackets 24 and meshes withthe teeth 25 of the rack bar 14. It will therefore be seen that rotationof this handle,

will cause the machine frame to travel bodily along the rack bar 14. Ahearing block 2G carries depending legs 27 which straddle the rack bar14. This bearing block is therefore capable of vertical movement withrelation to the rack bar and the frame of the machine. .lournaled inthis bearing member is a spindle 28 which is adapted to receive a wrench29 (see Fig. 2). A gear Wheel 30 which is secured to this spindle,meshes with a small pinion 31 and this small pinion 31 is in turn fastupon a shaft 32. The shaft 32 carries a gear wheel 33 which meshes witha small pinion 34. The pinion 34 is mounted upon a sleeve 35. The shaft36 of an air motor 37 is provided with a spline 38 which engages agroove 39 formed in the sleeve 35.

A rod 40 is adapted to elevate the bearing block 26, a hand wheel 41being threaded upon this rod and bearing against the bottom member 19 ofthe machine frame. When this hand wheel is turned, it either elevatesthe bearing block 26 or permits said bearing block to descend as thecase may be. The rod 40 passes through a plate 43 which extends from oneof the end members 18 of the frame. A lever 44 is pivoted at 45 to oneof the end walls of the frame. This lever carries a tooth 4G which isadapted to engage with the teeth of the rack bar 14. At its free endthis lever is provided with the knob 47 to permit this lever to bereadily thrown down to withdraw the tooth 46 from engagement with thebar 14. A spring 48 encircles a rod 49 which is carried by the free endof the lever 44 and passes through the plate 43, this spring normallyholding the free end of the lever elevated and holding the tooth 46 intoengagement with the rack bar 14. A latch 5() is pivoted at 5l on theunderside of the' plate in such manner that this latch may be swungbeneath the lower end of the rod 49 when desired, to prevent thedownward movement of said rod and consequently to prevent the downwardmovement of the lever 44.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the carriages 10and the rack bars 8 provide means for moving the machine bodily fromside to side of the [ire box of the boiler and beneath the crown sheet,while the mounting of the machine upon the rack bar 14 permits themachine to move bodily from end to end ot the fuo box. The wrench 29 maytherefore be brought into engagement with any one of the large number ofstay bolts which pass through the crown sheet.

The operation of the device is as follows'. With the parts in theposition illustrated in Fig. 1, air is supplied to the motor 37 and saidmotor in turn imparts motion to the wrench 29 through the sleeve 25,pinion 34, gear wheel 33, shaft 32, pinion 31, gear wheel 3() andspindle 28. After the said bolt has been screwed into position, the handwheel is turned to permit the bearing block 26 to descend to bring thewrench out of engagement with the head of that particular stay and thelatch is then moved into such position that the lever 44 may bedepressed to bring the tooth 46 out of engagement with the teeth of therack bar 14. The handle 23 may then be turned to cause the machine totravel to such a point as to bring the wrench 29 beneath the next stay.The hand wheel 41 is then turned to elevate the bearing block 26 tobring the wrench into engagement with the next stay, after which thecurrent is again supplied to the motor to cause the machine to screwthis stay into position. rl`he sliding connection between the motorshaft 29 and the sleeve 35, permitting this vertical movement of thebearing block with relation to the rest of the machine, while stillmaintaining the connection between the sleeve 35 and the motor shaft 36.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple andeliicient means are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of theinvention, but while the elements shown and described are well adaptedto serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to be.understood that the invention is not limited to the preciseconstruction set forth, but includes within its piir view such changesas may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What l claim, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with arotative member adapted to engage the heads of crown stays, of means forinparting rotation to said member, a frame upon which said member ismounted, and means for imparting bodily movement to said framelongitudinally of the fire box of a boiler'.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with arotative member adapted to engage the heads of crown stays, of means forimparting rotation to said member, a frame upon which said member ismounted, and means for imparting bodily movement to said framelongitudinally and transversely of the tire box of a boiler.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rackbar, of a frame mounted to travel upon said rack bar, a bearing blockadapted for vertical movenient with relation to said frame, a motorcarried by the frame, gearing carried by the rack bar, and a slidingconnection between said motor and said gearing.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rackbar, oi a frame mounted to travel upon said rack bar, a bearing blockadapted for vertical movement with relation to said frame, a motorcarried by the frame, gearing carried by the rack bar, a slidingconnection between said motor and said gearing; and means for lockingsaid frame against movement with relation to said rack bar.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rackbar, of a frame mounted to travel upon said rack bar, a bearing bloei;adapted for vertical movement with relation to said frame, a motorcarried by the trarne, gearing carried by the rack bar, a slidingconnecl tion between said motor and said gearing, and a pinion carriedby the frame and meshing with said rack bar.

G. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rackbar, of a frame mounted to travel upon said rack bar, a pinion carriedby said frame and meshing with said rack bar, a locking mechanismadapted to lock said frame against movement with relation to the rackbar, a motor carried by the frame, a bearing block adapted for verticalmovement with relation to said frame, gearing carried by said bearingbar, a slidingl connection between the gearing and the motor, and amember adapted to engage and impart movement to stays, which is drivenby said gearing.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY E. LEWIS.

Witnesses z A. L. PHELPS, F. G. CAMPBELL.

